Year-End Lists

The A.V. Club: 20 Best Films of 2012

[see also 2025 • 2024 • 2021 • 2020 • 2010s • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2016 • 2015 • 2014 • 2013 • 2011]

1. The Master
   Paul Thomas Anderson
2. Zero Dark Thirty
   Kathryn Bigelow
3. Moonrise Kingdom
   Wes Anderson
4. Holy Motors
   Leos Carax
5. The Deep Blue Sea
   Terence Davies
6. The Loneliest Planet
   Julia Loktev
7. Amour
   Michael Haneke
8. It’s Such a Beautiful Day
   Don Hertzfeldt
9. Beasts of the Southern Wild
   Benh Zeitlin
10. Wuthering Heights
    Andrea Arnold
11. The Cabin in the Woods
    Drew Goddard
12. Looper
    Rian Johnson
13. Life of Pi
    Ang Lee
14. Lincoln
    Steven Spielberg
15. Only the Young
    Jason Tippet and Elizabeth Mims
16. The Queen of Versailles
    Lauren Greenfield
17. Killer Joe
    William Friedkin
18. Miss Bala
    Gerardo Naranjo
19. Once Upon a Time in Anatolia
    Nuri Bilge Ceylan
20. I Wish
    Hirokazu Kore-eda

This list summarizes other lists, including these:

• The Best Films of 2012 Alison Willmore · A.V. Club
• The Best Films of 2012 Keith Phipps · A.V. Club
• 15 Best Films of 2012 Mike D’Angelo · A.V. Club
• The Best Films of 2012 Nathan Rabin · A.V. Club
• 15 Best Films of 2012 Noel Murray · A.V. Club
• The Best Films of 2012 Sam Adams · A.V. Club
• The Best Films of 2012 Scott Tobias · A.V. Club
• The Best Films of 2012 Tasha Robinson · A.V. Club